Wran exploded into action, his powerful fist catching the nearest droid in the brittle neck and snapping its head clean off. He grabbed the droid's rifle from its hands and spun around, firing, and took out another droid. Huhunna had a droid in either hand and was demolishing them, while Jesmin dismantled another with her lightsaber. Sharr and Scut threw themselves to the ground, blaster bolts passing over their heads. Wran took cover behind the body of the droid he was still holding partially upright.

Two of the droids fired on him, demolishing the droid he was using as a shield. Wran shoved the droid toward them and snapped his acquired rifle up, blasting both of them. Scut raised his own blaster and caught another droid in the chest. Still, wall panels opened and continued to pour droids out. Wran bit his lip angrily. Reaching into his boot, he pulled out a vibroblade and brandished it, holding his rifle one-handed.

Sharr rose to his feet and snapped off a shot from his carbine, destroying a droid that had targeted Huhunna. The Wookiee, who had now drawn her bowcaster, fired a series of quarrels at the droids. Two of them exploded. Wran leapt forward to take out another, and a blaster bolt grazed across his bicep. He winced, but nonetheless smashed his vibroblade into the droid's power pack and shredded it.

"We need to blow one of these doors!" Sharr called.

Huhunna growled an agreement and loaded an explosive quarrel in her bowcaster, aiming it at the door. She fired, and the quarrel dented the door but did not destroy it. Huhunna loaded another quarrel.

"Give her some cover!" Wran said.

He interposed himself between the droids and Huhunna, defending her with his vibroblade and rifle. Jesmin slashed apart another droid. Scut and Sharr each shot down a pair. Wran panted. There was a moment's break, and no more droids came...and then, all at once, every panel in the wall swiveled open again, and droids poured in. Wran winced as two blaster bolts caught him, one in the gut and another in the left leg. He dropped to his knees, but kept firing.

Huhunna fired yet another quarrel at the door and finally grunted in relief as the door blew open. Sharr grabbed Wran under his right arm, Scut grabbed him under his left, and they dragged him out of the trapped tunnel. Jesmin remained behind, deflecting blaster bolts, until the others were clear. Then she turned and ran back up the tunnel to join them. They made it back up to the fork and lay Wran down against the wall. Wran gasped in pain and dropped his weapons. He pulled open his winter garments and found that the blaster bolt had punched through his armor and into his gut.

"We need to get him to Drikall," Sharr said grimly.

"No..." Wran growled. "We have to...keep moving. Find the droid control before Daala."

"I can't be sure if this is fatal or not, Wran," Sharr replied softly. "It would be better if we found Drikall now. Or, at least, left you here. Scut, can you stay with him and make sure he's all right?"

"I want to...come," Wran insisted.

"And I'm ordering you to stay," Sharr snapped. "I admire bravery, not stupidity. You're a good man, Narcassan, but you need to know when to stay down and this is one of those times. If you want to make yourself useful, stay here and make sure that none of those droids down there follow us. You've got them at a chokepoint, so all you have to do is fire down at that tunnel and they won't get out."

"All right, fine," Wran said glumly.

"I will ensure he does not harm himself," Scut said. "If you find Drikall, send him this way. Otherwise, I'll do what I can for him."

Sharr nodded, patted Scut on the shoulder, and then led the others up the opposite fork. Wran dropped his head back against the corridor wall, angry. Angry at himself, for being stupid enough to get hurt. Angry at the droid for shooting him. Angry at Sharr for not letting him come. He shook his head to clear it. No, it would do him no good to be angry. It made him foggy-headed, made him make mistakes. He couldn't afford to make mistakes.

His team was counting on him.

* * *

Trey turned the corner to the next tunnel and kept his blaster upraised. They hadn't encountered any resistance so far, but they had heard the sounds of blasterfire and explosions, so Daala's forces were definitely down here. They couldn't take the risk of being caught off guard.

"Clear," he said.

Piggy followed him into the tunnel. They'd been down here for almost half an hour now, and so far had found nothing. It was starting to get on Trey's nerves. Piggy waved the rest of the squad forward and walked ahead. Javon, Myri, and Drikall passed Trey. Then the dark-haired man dropped in behind them, taking up the rear. He pulled on a pair of infrared goggles.

"Hey," he said. "I'm getting some definite heat signatures down here. Living beings, yeah, but also some mechanicals."

"How far?" Piggy asked.

"Right..." Trey started.

Then they turned another corner, and were in an enormous cavern filled to capacity with droids, combat shuttles, and starfighters. Trey gaped.

"Here," he finished.

Javon whistled. Trey moved forward. They were standing on a catwalk above the main floor of the cavern. The droids, still deactivated, were standing in neat, precise rows on the floor below. On one wall was a squadron of Vulture droid starfighters, and there were several MTT droid transports. On the wall across from the Vultures, there were racks and racks of weapons. And, near the far wall, bristling with weapons, was a Belbullab-22 starfighter.

"I think I might cry," Trey said softly.

He glanced up. The balcony ran all the way around the vast room. On the other side was a massive computer, no doubt the control system. On either side of the computer was a door that led to tunnels on the opposite side of the complex. And coming out of those tunnels were black-clad stormtroopers, led by an officer in dark cold-weather clothes.

"Oh, kark," Myri hissed.

"We need to get over there," Piggy said. "Now."

Trey was already in motion. He sprinted across the balcony, quickly closing the distance between him and Daala's forces. He snapped off a shot, catching one of the stormtroopers in the shoulder. The troopers whirled and opened fire on him. He threw himself to the ground, the blaster bolts passing over his head. Javon jerked his rifle up and fired, cutting one of the troopers down.

"All right then," Piggy muttered. "Everyone open fire!"

* * *

Jag glanced up at the sound of blasterfire. Tahiri and Jaina turned in unison and pointed down a corridor.

"This way!" Jaina said.

Jag followed them and they soon reached a stairway that led down into a huge cavern full of droids. Jag didn't have time to be awed–a firefight had broken out between the Wraiths and at least two dozen stormtroopers. Jag realized that he had entered from the same side of the complex as the stormtroopers–he was standing on the exact same side of the fight as they were. An officer was working on a computer terminal while his stormtroopers covered him.

Jaina and Tahiri leapt instantly into the midst of the stormtroopers, their lightsabers flashing. Jag raised his blaster and pressed it to the temple of the officer. The man looked up slowly, surprised.

Trey pulled himself to his feet and kept firing, taking down another pair of stormtroopers. Suddenly, there were two lightsabers in the midst of them, cutting down the black-armored soldiers right and left. Trey grinned fiercely and shot down another one. Piggy and Myri charged around the catwalk to join Trey, their blasters still firing. In moments, the rest of the stormtroopers had dropped.

Jag had his blaster pointed at the officer, who had stepped back from the terminal. Trey holstered his blaster and pulled out the zip-ties they'd been using for cuffs. He quickly tied the officer's hands behind his back. He heard giggling behind him and turned.

"We did it," Myri said softly. "We actually did it. We found the Crimson Force."

Trey nodded. "Yeah, we did."

He looked back over his shoulder. There were so many droids...he guessed it would be a bad idea for this army to fall into the hands of any government, whether Daala's, or the Empire, or even the Galactic Alliance. This was a powerful force, and a dangerous one. He wasn't sure if there was anyone in the galaxy responsible enough to use it.

"We should probably destroy this cavern," he said.

Jag glanced at him. "Good thinking, Trey. But not quite yet. There's one last thing we need to do. Piggy, contact Sharr's group and give them our coordinates. Tell them to meet us here. We have some work to do."

Piggy nodded and pulled his comlink up to his mouth. Trey took a stairway down to the cavern floor and began walking amongst the droids. He got to the far wall, where the starfighter was, and looked at it thoughtfully. He popped the canopy and got inside. This starfighter had been state-of-the-art during the Clone Wars, and even now it held up. It had targeting systems as good as an X-wing, and blaster cannons that could rival a B-wing.

A hand rapped against the side of the fighter and Jag crawled up on its wing. Trey glanced up and grinned sheepishly. Jag grinned in return and jerked his thumb behind him.

"Out of the fighter," he said. "I'm afraid I'm going to need it."

Trey frowned. "Why?"

"Oh, you'll see," Jag replied. "For now, go watch our officer buddy."

"Will do," Trey replied.

Leaving Jag–and his curiosity–behind, Trey walked back up to the catwalk. Jaina and Thaymes were working on the computer terminal. Tahiri and Javon had the officer on his knees, still bound. The officer was spewing threats at them like nobody's business, as if he had any power to do anything about it.

"Shut up," Trey said as he approached.

Jaina glanced up, made a show of dusting off her hands, and walked over to stand beside Trey. She knelt beside the officer, reached into his belt, and pulled out his comlink. It was a standard Imperial unit, but Trey saw instantly that it was coded so that only the officer could use it. He probably could've cracked given time, and Thaymes could've done it faster, but Trey had a feeling Jaina had something else in mind.

"Call Daala," she said to the officer. "Tell her you found the army, but you encountered resistance. Tell her you fought us off but your shuttle was destroyed. You captured a few of us and stole our vessels, and killed the rest. You're going to come back to the Chimaera to get enough transports to hold the droids."

"And we'll know if you use any warning words," Tahiri added, kicking him in the small of his back.

"I don't see what good this'll do you," grumbled the officer. "Give me the comlink."

While Tahiri untied his hands, Jaina handed him the comlink. Javon pressed the barrel of his rifle against the back of the officer's head, a clear warning that he'd shoot at the first sign of trouble.

"Admiral Daala," the officer said. "This is Captain Vari. We've found the Crimson Force, ma'am, but we encountered some resistance."

"Possibly so," Vari confirmed. "In any case, we've fought them off with some trouble. They destroyed our shuttle, but we did manage to capture their leaders and we'll be using their own vessels to return to the Chimaera. We'll be up shortly, to get the transports we'll need for the droids, ma'am."

"All right. Make it fast. And I'll be in the hangar to meet you. I'm eager to see who this thorn in my side is."

"Yes, ma'am. Captain Vari, out."

Jaina took the comlink back and shut it off, and then dropped it on the floor and smashed it under her foot. Tahiri quickly retied the man's hands. Trey felt his spirits soar. Daala, meeting them in the Chimaera's hangar? This would be the perfect opportunity to capture her! Apparently, Jaina was thinking the same thing.

"Trey, Javon, you and the other Wraiths get into that stormtrooper armor," she said. "You can use Piggy and Jag as your prisoners–"

"Actually, they can't," Jag replied.

Trey turned. Jag was walking back up the stairs from the ground floor.

"Who said anything about that?" Jag replied. "You'll be in the hangar so I'll trust you to make sure the TIEs can't launch. I'm just going to take out the engines so Daala can't try to escape."

Reluctantly, Jaina nodded. "All right."

"Sharr and Piggy can be the prisoners," Jag continued. "Try to capture Daala alive, and Lecersen too."

"Okay." Jaina turned to their prisoner. "Don't get any funny ideas. We'll let you loose when we meet with Daala so it doesn't look suspicious, but if you even try to flash her a warning, I'll drop you where you stand. I have no doubt this is going to end in a battle–play nice and maybe you'll survive it."

"I'm not stupid," Vari hissed.

"Good."

Trey began stripping the armor off of a dead stormtrooper and pulling it on. This would take quite a bit of doing, he thought, and there was no guarantee that all of them would make it out alive. But as long as they captured Daala and Lecersen, it'd be worth it. Trey put all thoughts of gloom and doom out of his head and prepared for what was to come.

Natasi Daala stood on the hangar floor as the stolen Nubian yacht descended. She was eager to meet the fools who'd tried to oppose her, and get this whole mess over with. Once the Crimson Force was in her hands, she'd be able to take over the Empire, as she'd always been meant to. She glanced behind her and saw Lecersen standing near the door, his arms crossed worriedly.

She ignored him. Lecersen was an irritant that would soon be disposed of. Once she had control of the Empire she could deal with him suitably.

The Nubian yacht's ramp lowered, and Captain Vari strode out, followed by four stormtroopers, two prisoners–a human and, surprisingly, a Gamorrean–and four more stormtroopers. Vari's jaw was tightened, and he stopped in front of Daala, hands clasped behind his back. He saluted crisply and returned his hands to their previous position once Daala returned the salute.

The Gamorrean snorted but otherwise didn't respond. Daala shrugged; she'd get him to talk one way or another. Her eyes returned to Vari and she frowned a little. Something was off about his composure...her hand dropped to her holster and she loosened her blaster. One of the stormtroopers abruptly moved around Vari and stood, arms crossed, between him and Vari.

"Hey, Admiral," a decidedly female voice said. "Remember me?"

The helmet came off, and Daala was staring into the face of Jaina Solo Fel. Eyes widening, Daala stumbled back and reached for her blaster. A Force shove caught her in the chest and she stumbled, her blaster clattering across the hangar floor. The stormtroopers behind Vari opened fire, and Daala snapped an order for her troopers to return fire. She grabbed at her blaster. There was a snap-hiss as Jaina's lightsaber ignited, and blaster bolts began reflecting around the hangar.

Daala cursed her misfortune, and the blasted Jedi who'd tricked her again. Grabbing her blaster off the floor, she fled the hangar, taking note of the fact that Lecersen was gone, too.

Trey snapped up his rifle and fired, cutting down a pair of stormtroopers even as Jaina shoved Daala back with the Force. Captain Vari tried to dodge, but Javon grabbed him by the arm, pulled him to the ground, and returned fire on the stormtroopers. Piggy and Sharr broke their gimmicked manacles and pulled out blasters, opening fire. Tahiri ignited her saber and charged to Jaina's side.

"I'll get Daala!" the blond Jedi said.

"No, Tahiri, wait!" Jaina replied, but the girl was already gone.

"I'll go help her!" Jesmin said.

Jesmin, lightsaber in one hand and blaster in the other, charged after Tahiri. Trey snarled under his breath and charged after them, leaving the others to deal with the stormtroopers. Tahiri and Jesmin were fast–Trey was already losing sight of them as they rounded a corner. Daala had a head start on them, but she wouldn't keep it for long, Trey expected. As he rounded the corner, he found Tahiri and Jesmin cutting down a pair of stormtroopers.

"The ship's troops will be scrambling," Jesmin said. "We need to find her and deal with her, fast."

"You go do that," Trey said. "I'll find a way to slow the stormies down."

"Not alone, you won't," Piggy said over the comlink. "Wait where you are; Tree Girl and Lab Boy will join you."

"Right," Trey replied.

Tahiri and Jesmin gave Trey a nod and headed off after Daala, cutting the turbolift door open and dropping down the shaft. Trey checked the charge on his rifle, nodded to himself, and crouched in an alcove, waiting to ambush any troops that might pass by before his reinforcements arrived. That happened sooner than he'd expected–a squad of stormtroopers ran past him, toward the hangar.

Trey jumped out of the alcove and fired, catching the rearmost trooper in the back plate. He squeezed the trigger twice more, dropping the trooper for good. Then he swiveled to fire at the next trooper in line. The other troopers spun around and returned fire on him. Trey ducked back into his alcove, popped his rifle out, and fired. A stray bolt grazed across his forearm plate, but didn't pierce the armor. He dropped out of the alcove again and fired, taking out another stormtrooper. The other two focused their fire on him.

Before they could kill him, Huhunna and Scut bore down on them, quickly cutting them down. Huhunna roared victoriously and loaded a new quarrel in her bowcaster. Trey blew out a breath of relief.

"Okay," he said. "Claw Boy's taking out the engines, so we just need to cause as much trouble as we can. Let's start with the bridge, yeah?"

Scut nodded. "You take the lead."

* * *

Tahiri dropped to her haunches as she landed atop the turbolift. She drove her lightsaber down into the 'lift and quickly cut a way in. She dropped down inside, followed by Jesmin. The 'lift door opened, revealing halls lined with escape pods. Daala was at the access panel to one pod, and was typing in a command code. Tahiri slammed her against the wall with a Force push.

"Don't move!" she growled.

Daala groaned, rolled with the impact, and came up shooting. Tahiri deflected Daala's shots into the ground and strode forward. Daala fired again and again, shots that would've been extremely efficient if it hadn't been for Tahiri's lightsaber. Tahiri finally sighed and Force pulled Daala's blaster from her hands.

"Now," she said. "Please don't move."

Daala glared daggers at her. "Going to murder me like you did Pellaeon, Veila?"

"I'm not that woman anymore," Tahiri replied.

She grabbed Daala by her collar and jerked her back toward the turbolift. Jesmin patted her on the back.

"Good going, Tahiri," she said.

"Thanks," Tahiri replied. She frowned. "Wait...where's Lecersen?"

Daala stiffened. "That coward."

Jesmin cast a glance over her shoulder. "None of the pods have launched yet. Where else would he have gone?"